11. Couple Number Three
Chapter 11
Couple Number Three
Reece led Neve toward the sound of chatter and clinking dishes. When they reached the dining room, daylight streamed in from windows whose curtains had been pulled back. The brightness made it hard for Reece to see, but he managed to catch Noah glancing up and grinning.
“Well, if it isn’t Couple Number Three. Glad you could pry yourselves away and join us, Mr. and Mrs. Reece Hunnicutt.”
Reece felt more than saw Neve flinch beside him. “Yeah, about that,” she posed in a soft voice—so soft no one but Reece heard her.
“Coffee?” Hailey chirped, all happy smiles.
How the hell could everyone function, much less act so damn chipper, while he felt—and looked—as though he’d been run over by a fire truck? Hadn’t they consumed as much alcohol as he evidently had?
“Reece would love some,” Neve offered. He glanced down at her, and she met his gaze. “What? That’s what you just said back in our room. I mean, the room. My room.” A becoming pink flushed her pretty face. Neve didn’t embarrass easily, but when she did, her blush always gave her away. It was no different now than when they’d been in elementary school.
“Or did you change your mind?” she prompted.
What’s the question? Oh, right. Coffee. He had mentioned coffee in Neve’s room, but he hadn’t expected her to speak up on his behalf. That—and her rose-petal cheeks—had thrown him off balance. He’d been responsible for himself since he’d been ten years old. Not that he minded her interjecting.
“Thank you,” came his lame reply.
Hailey filled and passed a steaming-hot cup to Neve, who doctored it with cream the way he liked, and handed it to him.
She knew how he took his coffee? How did she take hers ?
Befuddled, he thanked her again and pulled out her chair under the weight of four pairs of curious eyes. What the hell was everyone expecting? For him to not act like a gentleman simply because he was married now? Wait. Had he ever pulled out a chair for her before? Maybe this was a first too.
Shit! Shouldn’t he ask Hailey to pour a cup for Neve while he was being all polite? Except then he’d need to guess how, or if, to prepare it.
Hailey pointed toward a large silver tray in the middle of the massive table. “Neve, there’s hot water and a great selection of teas. They even left us fresh lemons.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Hailey.” Neve riffled through a large leather box filled with tea bags neatly packed in colorful paper envelopes.
Tea. Neve likes tea. I knew that. Didn’t I? His context these days was limited to the Miners Tavern, where her drink of choice was a margarita … or red wine.
Joy held out her palm. “Neve, let me see your ring again.” She shifted her hawk’s eyes to Reece. “You’re full of surprises, big guy. When you decide to go big, you go all the way.”
“Yeah, thanks for one-upping us, big bro,” Charlie snorted. “I ended up dropping a little more than I planned because of you.” He rushed to add, “My girl is totally worth it. ”
Joy whacked him playfully. “Good recovery, and thank you. I love my ring.”
Neve dunked her tea bag … over and over and over. “So you two getting married is … legal?”
Charlie nodded. “Oh yeah. We’re totally legit. Just like Noah and Hailey and you and Reece.” He sent Joy a wink. “Won’t be easy getting rid of me now. You’ll have to go to court, and no judge in his or her right mind is going to say we’re incompatible.”
Hailey looked around the table, a dopey grin plastered on her face. “Isn’t this amazeballs? A threefer! Who’d have thought we’d all end up married the day before Thanksgiving?”
“Does it bother you that everyone kind of, um, horned in?” Neve ventured.
“Not at all,” Noah laughed. “The bros planned it that way so none of us forgets his anniversary.”
“Except Thanksgiving doesn’t fall on the same day every year,” Joy deadpanned.
“Shit. Hadn’t considered that.” Noah shrugged. “Guess we’ll all remember or forget together then.”
“And end up in the same doghouse,” Charlie supplied.
Reece’s stomach protested against the coffee, bubbling with fresh acid. His wavering hope died on the vine. He turned his head toward Neve, whose eyes reminded him of the proverbial deer in the headlights.
“How solid is a marriage license in Nevada anyway?” Neve floated out there. “I mean, they make it easy to get hitched. It’s probably easy to get un hitched, right?”
Reece slurped his piping-hot brew, burning the roof of his mouth. Son of a bitch!
Noah lowered his empty coffee cup. “Pretty solid, I think. Why, are you already looking to back out?”
Reece blew on his steaming java and mumbled, “I’m not really sure how we backed in.”
Noah didn’t seem to hear. “Can’t blame you, Doc.” He hooked a thumb in Reece’s direction. “You probably woke up next to his surly ass this morning and thought, ‘What in the name of hell have I done?’ Am I right?” Noah’s comment was playful, with no clue how dead-on he was. “But it was bound to happen sooner or later. ”
Reece’s head snapped up. “What does that mean?” He stole a glance at Neve, who wore a clueless expression that probably matched his own.
“Oh, come on!” Noah scoffed. “You two have been dancing around the inevitable for years. I’m just surprised it didn’t happen sooner—like while you were still in high school.”
“What?” Neve’s cup clattered onto her saucer, and some of the tea sloshed over the side.
Noah fixed his gaze on her. “You didn’t see this coming?”
“A Vegas wedding on Thanksgiving Eve? No, I’ve got to admit I’m a little blindsided here.”
“Okay, so maybe not the setting you envisioned, but you always pictured yourself married to—Ow! What was that for?” He narrowed his eyes on Hailey, who had just delivered a sneaky jab of her elbow to his upper arm.
She topped off Noah’s coffee with a guileless smile. Her gaze shifted, bouncing between Reece and Neve. “Do you remember the Jell-O shots Alma served us before you got down to the jewelry shopping?”
“That woman is evil,” Charlie snorted.
Joy corrected him. “No, she’s a smart businesswoman doing whatever it takes to make her business thrive.” When he frowned at her, she quickly added, “I’m not saying I agree with her tactics, but you have to admit, they’re effective.”
Hailey cleared her throat, pulling everyone’s attention back to her. “After the shots—and Reece, I wasn’t counting, but I think you threw down at least half that tray because you wanted to sample all the flavors so you could pick a favorite—”
He interrupted. “Did I?” Hailey’s eyebrows furrowed. “Pick a favorite?” God, this conversation was growing more inane—and insane—by the second, and Reece was the acting catalyst.
“Don’t know. Grape, maybe? Anyway, you decided Joy and Charlie needed your advice.”
Charlie let go a mirthless laugh. “And let me tell you, big bro, you were mighty damn free with that advice.”
“Well, anyway,” Hailey continued, “Charlie challenged you to pick out a ring you would want to present if you were proposing to someone, and you guys started arguing. Then you pointed to a ring—the one on Neve’s finger—and Charlie said something about you picking that one because you would never propose to anyone anyway, and you seemed to take exception to that. That’s when you proposed to Neve.”
“In the jewelry store?” Reece spluttered.
“Yeah, you’re a real romantic, dude,” Noah quipped.
“Right by the jewelry case. It was really cute.” Hailey waved her phone in the air. “I have video of it right here.”
Reece held out his hand. “Let me see that.” Neve crowded in beside him as Hailey pulled up the screen and handed over the phone.
Reece went from gingerly holding the device as his mouth swung open, closed, and his grip on the device tightened. He didn’t even recognize himself! This guy on Hailey’s screen was jovial, a total dumbass, and clumsy as hell as he went into a crouch and proposed in the middle of a brightly lit jewelry store with a small crowd watching him make an utter fool of himself. No one-knee proposal there. A crouch. Yeah, he was a true romantic, all right.
He glimpsed Neve’s mouth going through the same motions his did. “You don’t remember either?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“What I don’t understand is why you didn’t turn tail and run the hell out of there.”
“If I could remember any of this, I might be able to tell you, but right now, it’s a total blank. Looks like I thought it was funny, though.” She pointed at herself on the screen, where her fingers covered her mouth but couldn’t hide the broad smile behind them or the squeal of excitement that ripped from her lungs.
Had Neve really been that excited about an idiotic fake wedding proposal from him? Because the proposal was the ultimate in stupid. If he were going to propose for real, he would pull off something way better than this clown show. Sadly, it wouldn’t take much to top this. The entire spectacle added cringing on top of cringe-worthiness.
“Oh, you loved it, Neve!” Hailey threw in. “And who wouldn’t? It was so spontaneous and cute and fun and … romantic.” She pointed at the device Reece continued clutching as though his life depended on it.
“It was romantic,” Joy insisted, “but not as romantic as Charlie going down on one knee at the chapel.” She fluttered her eyelashes at Reece’s little brother, who gave her a heated look in return. These two had no doubt consummated their unplanned union several times over by now. No pulling them apart with a divorce.
The word sent jitters up his spine, and not good ones.
Reece’s ridiculous proposal portion of the video came to an end— thank fuck for small mercies —and Neve pried the phone from his fist and handed it back to Hailey.
“Oh, it’s not over.” Hailey scrolled through the device, her beaming smile taking on a satanic quality as she handed it back. “Keep watching. Alma took over filming during the ceremony and sent this to me. It’ll be on your phones too.”
“Why?” Reece barked.
Hailey’s blue eyes flickered with surprise. “Because you asked her to?”
Neve took the phone from Hailey this time, and Reece puffed out a long exhale as she hit the play button and placed the device under his nose so he could see the six of them lined up in front of Elvin. The three woman held bouquets of flowers Reece recognized from the delivery at the suite, and the guys stood straight and tall—like real grooms. Noah and Hailey were in the middle of the pack, though the spotlight didn’t stay entirely on them. No, each couple got to deliver their vows. Reece and Neve went last, and one of Reece’s questions was at last answered. Not only had he kissed Neve, but he’d swooped her into his arms, bent her over backward, and engaged her mouth in an enthusiastic kiss—with tongue. That memory came flooding back into his brain. His tongue stroking hers, the sweet way she tasted, her succulent mouth, how her shock at his action had dissolved … and how she’d returned that kiss with a fervor that matched his own.
His dick gave a rousing cheer. He told it to simmer down and returned his attention to the video, where Neve’s surprised eyes were now closed. He could have sworn a sweet little moan escaped her. Her fingertips dug in as her grip on his shoulders tightened, and he found himself wanting to believe it wasn’t merely because she needed to hang on.
Jesus, who was this guy who had invaded his body and taken over last night?
The ceremony was over quickly. Elvin had been efficient, reading once from the book he held in his palms and prompting their I-dos one right after the other. The whole thing had taken less than five minutes.
Five minutes to get married. How long to get un married? If this was real, that is … and he still wasn’t convinced .
His disbelief carried over as he stared wordlessly at Hailey and Joy showing off their rings, oohing and aahing. With a lot of prodding, Neve reluctantly added her hand to the mix so they could fawn over that too. Neve didn’t look any happier about the circumstances than Reece felt, but he had to admit the ring was stunning. Would he have picked out the same one had he been sober? Would he have picked out the same woman ? God only knew because he’d never even considered proposing marriage before, much less doing the actual asking and going through with it.
For the hundredth time since they’d awakened to find the license, he asked himself how he had lost all control over his sanity.
This couldn’t be real. That was the answer. The four of them had gotten together and staged an elaborate hoax. He had to tip his hat to them—their acting skills were superb. But if they were making all this up, they would have had to rehearse for a long time and pull Neve into the ruse too. Judging by her face, now completely drained of color, he was pretty certain she wasn’t in on it. She looked like she might be sick or pass out, or both, at any moment, and he instinctively reached over and placed his hand protectively over hers.
The move seemed to surprise her, but she quickly mouthed, “Thank you.” Her skin went from skim-milk-translucent to a marginally healthier shade of pale pink.
With his free hand, he slurped his coffee and tried to control the whirling dervish inside him.
Gathering his courage, he cleared his throat, and all heads turned toward him. “Ah, I think Neve and I have more unanswered questions about last night.”
Charlie checked his watch. “Gotta hold them for now. We have a plane to catch.”
Reece was dumbfounded. “What plane?”
Noah gave him a “duh” look. “Cantrell’s private jet? The one that brought us here? It’s ready to take off in an hour, and we still have to pack and get to the airstrip.”
Neve gasped. “Is Leo going to meet the plane?”
Hailey’s brows drew together. “I have no idea. Do you want to see him as soon as we land? ”
Neve shook her head so hard Reece wondered if her neck would snap. “In fact, if you all would do Reece and me a huge favor … We’d really appreciate your keeping our part in this triple wedding to yourselves.”
Now Hailey’s brows really crunched. “Sure.” She looked around at the rest of the group. “You guys are on board, right?”
Though they looked as puzzled as Hailey, they each nodded in agreement.
Reece slid his hand around Neve’s forearm, surprised he could not only touch his fingertips, but that they overlapped. “Guess we better get a move on, huh?”
They all stood at once, and Hailey held out a blueberry muffin. “Neve, take this. No offense, but you don’t look so hot. I think you need to get something into your stomach.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think I can eat right now,” she croaked. She turned and hustled toward their bank of rooms.
Reece glanced at a dismayed Hailey. “She’s just a little hungover and a lot shocked. You said we each have the video Alma shot?” Hailey nodded slowly. “So that means I have her number on my phone?”
“No, that came from me. But I do have Alma’s number. Do you need me to text it to you?”
“Yeah, I do. Thanks, Hail.”
While Hailey tapped on her phone, Noah shoved his hands into his front pockets. “Why do you need Alma’s number, bro?”
“Later.” He hurried after Neve.
By the time he reached her, she was pacing in a tight circle at the foot of the bed, waving her hands in front of her face as though trying to cool down. But she wasn’t trying to cool down. She was in full-on panic mode.
Her entire body jerked toward him as if she hadn’t realized he stood there. Her eyes went wild. “You need to call Alma right now so we can find out how to undo this … this terrible mistake. If we have to stay behind and fly home on our own later tonight, then it’s worth it to get this resolved.”
He pulled up the number Hailey had texted and tapped it. One ring, and it went straight to a recorded message that told him Alma and Elvin weren’t available until after the Thanksgiving holiday. He could feel free to leave a voicemail, but they wouldn’t be checking messages until they returned. In the meantime, if they were looking to get married, her voice cheerfully listed two other chapels that could accommodate them.
Reece hung up. Neve searched his face, desperation etched in her features. He wanted to pull her against him and hold her, soothe away the fright. Instead, he let his hands hang awkwardly at his sides as he worked through the kindest way to break it to her.
In the end, he simply said, “I have some bad news.”